The neighbors were making loud noises all night again. Peter knocked a couple of times to no avail. It seemed that they only intensified even more. The woman who owned the apartment was laughing, a male voice muttered, and then there was more music. Peter barely got out of bed through his robot shuffling, naughty feet. He went out on the landing and rang the doorbell next door. “What do you want, old man?” a young woman with colorful makeup looked out the ajar door. “Linda, it’s two in the morning,” said Peter tiredly. “I can’t fall asleep, you’re so…
Author: town gist
William looked impatiently at his watch. Sophia was supposed to come very soon. He deliberately left work early to prepare a surprise for her; after all, 10 years of marriage is a round date. The oven clicked in the kitchen, so it means that the duck with apples is ready. William looked around at the beautifully served table and smiled contentedly. He did it. Sophia was almost an hour late. “William, dear, I’m sorry. Well, it’s Marina’s birthday today, so it was inconvenient to leave. Well, honey, don’t pout. Oh, are you all on your own? Well, what are you…
These days, I feel life is like a drama. I never was greedy. Ever since I was young, I was satisfied with what was given to me, rather than struggling so hard. I felt bound to live in a way that wouldn’t harm anyone or be a burden to anyone and just beautifully go on with my responsibilities. However, life did not flow the way I thought it would. I was proud that I had accomplished as much as anyone, but difficulties began at that time. No consoling words were helpful and I regretted that I ended up like this…
I’m a 37-year-old woman. I am working in San Francisco. I’ve been divorced for about five years. My ex-husband and I started work at the company on the same day. We first met at the job interview with our turns back to back. He was tall with decent looks, and his low-pitched voice was excellent. I wish I could join this company with that person. I remember thinking that as I enter the interview room. I’m ashamed, but if I may brag about myself for a moment, I had a pretty high SAT score, and I was often complimented for…
I’m a single woman in my 60s. Ever since I was little, I’ve had one belief; it was a sort of give and take. To be specific, I believe that if I studied or worked hard, I would get back as much effort as I put in. This applied to interpersonal relationships as well. If I treated others well, they would be good to me too. Thus, even after I got married, based on my beliefs, I thought that if I was nice to my husband first, he would also be nice to me. These days, a woman is not…
I’m a woman in my early 50s. My life has always been very difficult, but I want to tell you about a miracle that happened to me five years ago. I grew up in an orphanage, so I always envied people with families. It was my dream to meet a good person and have a family of my own. After graduating from high school, I left the orphanage and got a job at a small company. It had a company dorm right next to the factory where I could stay. I worked hard to save my money, dreaming of the…
I’m a full-time housewife in my 50s, living with my son and daughter in their 20s. Young people may think it’s strange, but for a long while, my dream was to become a full-time housewife, to make a happy family. One may question why I didn’t want to develop myself by testing the waters in society, and instead wanting to just settle for being a full-time housewife. But I long to have a happy family the most. My unhappy upbringing played a large part. I was born into an unhappy family. As the eldest daughter, my father was a taxi…
I’m a man in my 40s living in Seoul. When I was young, I couldn’t even date because all I did was work. My parents died early, and I had to raise my little sister. I think I only worked throughout my 20s as my younger sister studied hard and entered a good university. I felt my hard work paid off when she reached legal age. However, her nagging increased for me to date girls. “You had sacrificed for me so long, it’s time you meet a nice girl and settle down. Don’t worry about me anymore.” Of course, I…
I’m a woman working as a cook. I got married this year and I’m thoroughly enjoying my newlywed life. I don’t usually talk about my past to the people around me. I don’t have many friends, but unless it’s someone very close, I just say that I grew up in a very ordinary way. However, my childhood was not that smooth. It wasn’t that I was unhappy because I had someone who loved me very dearly – that person was my grandpa. He was my only family. As far as I can remember, I was always with my grandpa. He…
I’m a woman in my 30s working at an elementary school as a teacher. I almost got married last year but broke off my engagement. To be precise, my mother-in-law broke it off. After the breakup, it was really hard for me for a while. Not long ago, something happened that washed away the injustice done to me at once. I’m sending the story about the reason for breaking my engagement, which was because of my parents’ occupation. My parents sell hot dogs and snacks in two small spots in the open produce markets. They each sell food items. To…